Magnetic stripe cards to remain valid after December 31

The State Bank of Vietnam issued a decision on November 30 stating that domestic bank cards with magnetic stripes will remain valid for normal use after December 31, 2021.

Vietnam is requiring banks to switch their magnetic stripe cards to chip-mounted cards.
Vietnam is requiring banks to switch their magnetic stripe cards to chip-mounted cards.

Under the decision, holders of magnetic stripe cards will continue to be able to make transactions with their cards such as withdrawing cash from ATM machines or making payments at points-of-sale.

Commercial banks in Vietnam began to stop issuing magnetic bank cards starting from March 2021 and are required to replace them with the more secure chip-mounted ones by the end of 2021.

But the switchover has been delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The State Bank clarified that December 31 is the deadline for changing to chip-mounted cards under the original plan, not the date that magnetic stripe cards will become invalidated.

However, Vietnam’s central bank also asked card issuers to encourage and support their customers to switch to chip-mounted cards to enhance security and to warn them of the risks if magnetic cards continue to be used.